Headphones are evolving. When Apple first announced the new iPhone 7, which drops the headphone jack in favor of a wireless connection, many were more than a little frustrated. Traditionally speaking, wired headphones have been of a higher quality, both sound-wise and when it comes to reliability. Now, however, that’s changing, and the gap in sound quality is closing.

If you’ve decided you want to ditch those annoying wires in favor of wireless headphones, there are a number of things to consider. The first thing you’ll need to decide is what form-factor you prefer. Do you want over-ear headphones, on-ear headphones, or in-ear headphones? Over-ear headphones generally sound better and are more comfortable, while in-ears are far more portable, and on-ear headphones attempt to strike a balance between those two.

You’ll also want to consider whether you want noise-cancellation, which helps cut out the background noise while you’re listening. Last but not least, you’ll want to think about your budget. These days, there are great Bluetooth headphones across most price ranges, but as is the case with most things, the more you have to spend, the better headphones you'll get.

There are a number of things that make these headphones so good. For starters, they look beautiful. The headphones are built with premium leather, along with a strong metal frame and a rustic look. It’s a great combination, but the build doesn’t just make them good-looking – it also makes them nice and strong.

While the headphones do have an over-ear design, they are somewhat portable. They fold up and fit into a nice strong case, which is included in your purchase. The case is great for those of you who want to take your cans on the go. The Sennheiser HD 1 headphones are comfortable, too. They have nice memory foam in the ear-cups, and while we would have liked to see a little more foam in the headband, that’s not a deal-breaker by any means.

Then there’s the sound, which is the highlight of these headphones. The Sennheiser HD 1 Wireless over-ear headphones boast a deep, rich low-end, along with a well-tuned and accurate mid-range and crisp high-end. They also have noise cancellation, and while it’s a little annoying that you can’t deactivate it if you want, it well help keep that extra noise out so you can listen to your music in peace.

The best noise-canceling wireless headphones

Bose

Why you'll love them: The noise cancellation technology on the Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones is the best around, but the headphones also sound great and are extremely comfortable.

Bose is a powerhouse in the headphone world and has been especially successful when it comes to noise canceling headphones. In our testing, the headphones with the best noise cancellation technology are the Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones. When these cans are on, the noise cancellation is almost eerie.

The headphones aren’t just great for noise cancellation. They’re extremely comfortable and sound great, too. Sure, the design isn’t all that interesting, but for many people that doesn’t matter as much as the noise cancellation technology and sound quality. If you're into customizing your cans to suit your personality, you can design your own headphone on Bose's website.

The Bose QuietComfort 35 headphones also come with everything you’ll need to take them on planes and around town, including a nice carry case, plane adapter, and an aux cable for when you want to use them in wired mode. Speaking of which, wired mode is, unfortunately, the only time you can use these headphones without noise cancellation on. There’s no switch to turn it off when they’re connected through Bluetooth.

The best wireless headphones for taking on the go

Why you'll love them: The AKG N60 NC Wireless headphones have an excellent design, feel comfortable, and sound great, but they’re also super portable and live safely in an included carry pouch.

Looking for something a little more portable than the over-ear Sennheiser HD 1 Wireless headphones? The AKG N60 NC Wireless headphones could be the ones for you.

The headphones feature a super sleek design with a black and silver color scheme, along with an on-ear form factor, which makes them a lot more portable than over-ear headphones. They’re made even more portable with their swiveling earcups, which help the headphones fit nice and snugly in the included carry bag.

The AKG N60 NC headphones are comfortable, too. There's a good amount of memory foam in both the earcups and the headband. The best thing about these headphones, however, is that they sound great. There’s a ton of low-end frequencies, though the bass doesn’t go overboard. The high frequencies are nice and clear, too, which helps the music sound crisp.

Next up is the fact that these headphones also feature noise cancellation that's better than you’ll find on many other headphones. It’s not quite as good as the Bose QuietComfort 35’s tech, but it's good nonetheless. The headphones aren’t perfect. In the pair we tested, there was a small amount of Bluetooth noise, which came in the form of a very faint buzzing in the background. You couldn’t hear it while music was playing, but it was a little annoying.

Others liked the N60 NC Wireless headphones, too. While they’re relatively new and haven’t gotten a ton of reviews just yet, they scored 8.7/10 on Headphone Review. The Verge also liked them during their preview, PCMag gave them 4 out of 5 stars, and Time also praised them. The headphones are a little pricey at $300 but more affordable than our top pick. - Christian de Looper

The best wireless headphones for sports

Why you'll love them: If you’re looking for a pair of headphones to take to the gym, the Jaybird X3 are the best choice, largely because of the huge selection of accessories and great sound quality.

Looking for something to take to the gym and on your runs? Perhaps the in-ear form factor is a little more appropriate for your needs. In our testing, the best in-ear wireless headphones for sports and running are the Jaybird X3 headphones.

The Jaybird X3 headphones are well-designed, and they come with a ton of accessories, including three pairs of silicon tips, three pairs of memory foam tips, three pairs of sports wings, and a nice little carry pouch. Those memory foam tips are extremely helpful for sports-buds. Not only do they help make the headphones a little more comfortable, but they help keep them in your ears during your workouts, too. Despite the memory foam tips, the in-ears are still somewhat large, which makes them a little uncomfortable at times.

Often, buying in-ear headphones means compromising on sound quality, but the Jaybird X3 headphones sound great. They have deep and powerful bass, along with a nice, concise high-end, and the sound signature is customizable through the Jaybird app.

The best wireless headphones for less than $150

JBL

Why you'll love them: The JBL E55BT headphones come in a ton of different colors, are reasonably comfortable, and sound great for less than $150.

Looking to buy a great pair of Bluetooth headphones on a budget? Just because you don’t have a ton of cash, doesn’t mean you can’t get some great headphones. In our testing, the JBL E55BT headphones are the best headphones under $150.

For starters, unlike plenty of other headphones, these come with a very fun design. You can get them in a ton of colors, including red, black, blue, green, and white. They also fold up, so they’re somewhat portable and can be taken on the go.

The headphones don’t just look good, they sound good, too. They could use a little more in the high-mids frequency range, but apart from that, they offer plenty of bass and a crisp, concise high-end, which makes for some great-sounding music. They’re on the better end of the spectrum with battery life, too. A single charge will get you 20 hours of listening time.

The headphones only came out a few months ago, but they’ve been getting rave reviews like the 4/5 rating on PCMag and 8.1/10 on Headphone Review. And, as mentioned, the JBL E55BT headphones are relatively cheap with an original price of $149.95. At the time of writing, they were on sale for $119.95 on Amazon. - Christian de Looper

The best Bluetooth headphones for great sound

The best Bluetooth headphones need to sound great, feel nice, and look good — especially since they'll command a high price. Thankfully, Master & Dynamic delivered with the MW50. From the first time you put them on, you'll appreciate their feel and things will only improve when you actually start listening to music.

Because music has to get compressed when sent wirelessly from your phone to your Bluetoheadphonesones, you end up losing the little details that make songs special. No Bluetooth headphones (at least not right now) will give you every nuance you'll hear with a high-end pair of wired ones, but the MW50's performance is excellent.

I was able to pick up on sonic subtleties that would get lost or sound muddy on lesser pairs, and that was true regardless of what I was listening to. Music encoded at a lower bitrate would sound worse, but that was more a matter of the MW50's exposing flaws in the files rather than making them sound that way.

The only major downside to these headphones is their high price, but that's to be expected from hardware this good. As with any luxury good, you're getting what you pay for, and in the case of the MW50 headphones, it's quite a lot. - Brandt Ranj

The best Bluetooth headphones under $50

Why you'll love them: If you're just getting into Bluetooth headphones, iFrogz's Impulse Duo is a good place to start.

These iFrogz headphones made the best earbuds guide, so I'm just going to echo what I said there below:

Besides sounding pretty good for the price, the reasoniFrogz Impulse Duo earbudsmade the cut over all the other budget models I've tried is their design.

The dual driver construction is what gives these earbuds an audio-edge over the competition. But mostly, these earbuds succeed where most Bluetooth models fail: Instead of having all of their technology built into an unwieldy dongle that hangs off the cable connecting both buds, iFrogz built it all into a magnetic clip.

Clip the dongle onto your clothes, pop in the earbuds, and you're ready to listen to music. In terms of audio quality, you shouldn't expect a truly audiophile experience for less than $50, but don't expect a bad one, either. These are actually the upgraded version of the earbuds iFrogz released last year, and while the design is the same, time was spent in improving the sound quality.

I'll put it to you this way. These headphones are so easy to use and sound good enough, that they're my go-to pair between reviews. It's just so convenient to coil them up and pop them in my pocket after a commute, or once my friends finally make it to our meeting place. - Brandt Ranj

The best Bluetooth headphones for travelers

Amazon

Why you'll love them: Noise cancellation is a big deal for daily commuters and avid international travelers alike — If you want to block out the world, you'll want Sony's MDR-1000X headphones.

Noise canceling is becoming a common feature for many Bluetooth headphones, and for good reason. It's nice to block out the rest of the world during your morning commute or to block out the screaming kid in front of you on the plane.

Sony's MDR-1000X have the best noise cancellation of any headphones — Bluetooth or otherwise — that I've ever tested. On a plane ride from New York to San Francisco, the only thing I heard was the music I put on. Without any music, the noise canceling feature was able to block out a lot of ambient noise, which should also appeal to you if you're looking to sleep en route to your destination.

This pair of headphones also has a few "smart" features, thanks to touch controls on the right ear cup. Placing your hand on the ear cup activates the microphone, letting you hear noise (like a pilot's announcement) while lowering your music. As someone who put this feature to the test while traveling, it was surprisingly useful.

Noise-canceling aside, these headphones are comfortable to wear for extended periods of time and sound very good overall. The audio quality wasn't as high as some other pairs I've heard, but noise canceling actually does color the sound a little bit. Still, it's a fair trade-off for such a nice feature. - Brandt Ranj

The best Bluetooth headphones if you use multiple devices

Amazon

Why you'll love them: If you're constantly switching between listening to music on multiple devices, Plantronics' 500 headphones make it easy.

I primarily listen to music on my phone, but at work, I sometimes listen to music on my computer. There's always a wired pair connected to my work laptop, but sometimes it's inconvenient to take off my Bluetooth headphones and put them on, only to take them off again after a song or two.

Bluetooth headphones typically have a problem connecting to multiple audio sources simultaneously, but Plantronics' 500 don't. This pair connects to my computer and phone and lets me seamlessly switch between the two. It's a trick Apple's Airpods can perform (on Apple hardware only), but I was surprised to find it in a pair of headphones at this price point.

This convenience is why they're on this list, but they're also a good pair of headphones in their own right. They sound excellent for a pair that costs under $100, and they have excellent battery life. The materials aren't as nice as what you'd find on a higher-end pair, but if you can extend your budget a little bit and like on-ear headphones they're a great choice. - Brandt Ranj

Pros: Great sound for the price, the ability to switch between devices seamlessly

The best looking Bluetooth headphones

This is the only pair of headphones that I haven't tried personally, kind of. I owned the wired version before but never made the leap to this Bluetooth model. Still, it retains the aesthetic qualities of its wired sibling, and if you care about how your headphones look, it's hard to recommend anything else.

Bower & Wilkins exclusively uses premium materials and designs its products with a high level of fit and finish. I've owned two pairs of its headphones over the years, and both have looked incredible. Even the way the cable is threaded between the aluminum connecting the headband to the ear cups is nice looking.

Of course, appearances are only skin deep, and people seem to enjoy how the wireless version of the P7's perform. I've always found Bowers and Wilkins headphones to have a very rich sound that isn't quite neutral, but still within the realm of reason.

It's not that bass or treble frequencies are misaligned, but more that everything takes on a slightly oversaturated sound that may bug purists. - Brandt Ranj

Earbuds need to be well constructed to deliver the same kind of audio quality you'd expect out of a bigger pair of headphones. Master & Dynamic pulled it off with the ME05 earbuds. They are still the best earbuds I've used, delivering excellent sound quality in a nice, neat package.

On-ear headphones give you great sound in a portable package that's comfortable to wear. Master & Dynamic's MW50 are the best on-ear headphones we've tested yet. They're an investment, but you'll appreciate these headphones more each day, as you rediscover favorite songs and fully appreciate new ones.

If you don't mind wires,Status Audio's CB1 headphones offer the best audio quality I've heard in headphones costing less than $100. The headphones themselves are comfortable when listening for extended periods of time, and unlike most studio monitor-style headphones, the cable is manageable.

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